# The Secret to Longevity in Azerbaijan? Mountain Air

> Discover Lerik, Azerbaijan's land of centenarians, home to a Museum of Longevity and age-old traditions. Learn the secret of its mountain air.

- URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/sekret-dovholittia-v-azerbaidzhani-hirske-povitria/
- Language: en
- Published: 2024-10-30
- Categories: Culture, Historic Sites, Museums, Mountains, Azerbaijan, Food & Drinks

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There are a handful of places around the world famous for the long lives of the people who live there.

In Japan, the sprightly centenarians of Okinawa have earned the island the nickname "Land of the Immortals." Campodimele in Italy, the "Village of Eternity," is living proof of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. And in the sunny California town of Loma Linda, a community of Seventh-day Adventists reaps the rewards of clean living.

But there is one pocket of longevity you may not have heard of, and it is home to the only Museum of Longevity in the world. This is Lerik, in southern Azerbaijan.

This country in the South Caucasus has several regions known for residents who live well into their triple digits, including Lankaran and Nagorno-Karabakh. Yet one region, Lerik, is renowned for having the highest concentration of centenarians of all.

On this emerald land, high above the clouds in the Talysh Mountains and reachable only by a winding serpentine road, people seem to have unlocked the secret to a long and healthy life.

## The Museum of Longevity

The two-room Museum of Longevity, built in 1991 and renovated in 2010, holds more than 2,000 exhibits documenting the lives and memories of the region's oldest residents.

It captures individual life cycles through household objects that have outlived their owners, such as irons spanning three generations. There are chests filled with scarves and shirts, silver jugs and bowls, beautifully knitted socks, and hand-dyed rugs that still hold their vivid colors despite their age.

There are also letters written in both Azerbaijani and Russian, personal keepsakes so old the ink has begun to fade.

Perhaps the most captivating exhibits are the portraits of centenarians that line the museum walls. These images, dating back to the 1930s, were donated by the French photographer Frederic Lachaux.

The museum and Azerbaijan's official statistics define the term "centenarian" more loosely than you might expect: here it means anyone over the age of 90.

Even so, in 1991 Lerik counted more than 200 people over the age of 100 out of a population of 63,000.

The numbers have grown less impressive since then, something locals explain in various ways: from radiation given off by communication towers to a decline in environmental quality, though it may also come down to stricter record-keeping.

Today, Lerik is home to 11 people over the age of 100 out of a local population of 83,800.

## The Story of the 168-Year-Old Man

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Lerik's oldest living resident today is Raji Ibrahimova, aged 105. That is a venerable age, but it pales next to the age said to have been reached by the district's most famous centenarian, a shepherd named Shirali Muslimov, who supposedly lived to 168.

The yellowed pages of his passport claim he was born in 1805, and his headstone states that he died in 1973. If true, that would make him the oldest person ever to have lived on Earth.

Unfortunately, in the early 19th century, births were rarely registered in remote villages like his native Barzavu, so there is no reliable record of when he was born.

The countless letters sent from around the world for his various birthdays leave no doubt that he really was of a very great age, but it may be wiser to allow for a margin of error of at least 20 years.

Among those who corresponded with Muslimov was the Vietnamese communist leader Ho Chi Minh, who sent a postcard addressing him with the affectionate greeting "Dear Grandfather."

The longevity gene appears to run in the family. His 95-year-old daughter, Halima Gambarova, says that while she may not live to 168 like her father, she at least hopes to reach 150 like her grandfather, or 130 like her aunt.

## "Peace of Mind"

When the weather turns cold, most of the centenarians move to the milder coastal climate of Lankaran, but Gambarova was still in the village of Barzavu in Lerik when we visited her father's modest two-story house, surrounded by enormous apple and pear trees (probably as old as her famous father).

Sitting by the window, wrapped in a shawl, she speaks with a slight accent, often slipping into her native Talysh language, spoken by only 200,000 people and classified by UNESCO as "vulnerable."

She shows her passport, which lists no month or day of birth, only the year: 1924. She may be 95 years old, but she is fully in the present, chatting with her great-grandchildren and showing a lively sense of humor. When asked her age, she answers cheerfully: "15."

"Peace of mind is part of their secret," says the museum guide. "They avoid stress, they take a philosophical view of life, they live one day at a time, without much planning or worry about the future."

## Good Food and Natural Remedies

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Gambarova's day begins at dawn; she does not allow herself to sleep in. "I get up the moment my eyes open," she says.

All day long she works in the garden or around the house. Her room is small, with a thick, soft rug and cushions on the floor. Many people here prefer to sleep on the ground, with a thin blanket in place of a mattress, believing it the healthiest way to rest the back.

Contrary to popular belief, the long-lived residents of Lerik do eat meat, but from earlier generations of elders they inherited a preference for fresh dairy products such as shor (a soft cheese), butter, milk, and the yogurt drink ayran, foods for which giving up meat had more to do with economic circumstances than choice.

Gambarova's daughter-in-law brings out a large plate of pears and apples from their garden, along with fragrant tea.

It is herbal, floral, and refreshing. At the museum, the guide shows a table laid out with the various herbs that grow in Lerik.

"The secret to longevity lies in proper nutrition, the minerals in the spring water, and the herbs we add to our tea to prevent illness, so that people do not have to take medicine and rely only on natural remedies," says the guide. Indeed, Gambarova claims she has never taken any medication at all.

## Generations Living Side by Side

Beyond her windows, the village may seem quiet and peaceful. But the physical work the residents do every day is immense. From sunrise to sunset, they toil in gardens and fields as well as around the house. They sew and knit and care for large families.

Such was the way of life of Mamedkhan Abbasov, a 103-year-old resident of the village of Jangamiran. Sitting on a rug across from the window, the elder has almost entirely lost his sight and can barely hear his son telling him that guests have arrived, but when he finally understands, he breaks into song, offering prayers and good wishes.

Beside Abbasov sits his great-grandson, a whole lifetime between them.

Like Gambarova, Abbasov was a busy villager all his life, working the fields until his eyesight failed about seven years ago.

## "What God Gives"

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"He was always a good man and lived his life the right way," says his son.

As for food, he eats "what God gives," with a single restriction: he never drinks alcohol.

Abbasov credits his longevity to daily physical activity, not to the point of exhaustion, but enough to challenge the body.

Along with a good diet of farm produce, he also used to drink liters of ice-cold spring water, rich in the minerals said to promote long life.

The dizzying heights of the mountains may be a factor too.

A 2017 study by the University of Navarra in Spain found that living at high altitude lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. A 2011 study by the University of Colorado Denver found that these highland residents also live longer.

The ages of some of these celebrated centenarians may still be open to dispute, but here in Lerik their legacy lives on in the people who still follow Lerik's simple secret to longevity: physical activity, good food, plenty of water, and an attitude toward life that says: We only live once, but if we do it right, once is enough.

Museum of Longevity, 22 A. Asadullayev Street, Lerik, Azerbaijan; (025) 274-47-11